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Prevalence of mental disorders in defendants at criminal court

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2022

Penelope Brown*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Ioannis Bakolis
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Elizabeth Appiah-Kusi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Nicholas Hallett
Affiliation:
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Matthew Hotopf
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Nigel Blackwood
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK; and Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
*
Correspondence: Penelope Brown. Email: penelope.brown@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background

Psychiatric morbidity in prisons and police custody is well established, but little is known about individuals attending criminal court. There is international concern that vulnerable defendants are not identified, undermining their right to a fair trial.

Aims

To explore the prevalence of a wide range of mental disorders in criminal defendants and estimate the proportion likely to be unfit to plead.

Method

We employed two-stage screening methodology to estimate the prevalence of mental illness, neurodevelopmental disorders and unfitness to plead, in 3322 criminal defendants in South London. Sampling was stratified according to whether defendants attended court from the community or custody. Face-to-face interviews, using diagnostic instruments and assessments of fitness to plead, were administered (n = 503). Post-stratification probability weighting provided estimates of the overall prevalence of mental disorders and unfitness to plead.

Results

Mental disorder was more common in those attending court from custody, with 48.5% having at least one psychiatric diagnosis compared with 20.3% from the community. Suicidality was frequently reported (weighted prevalence 71.2%; 95% CI 64.2–77.3). Only 16.7% of participants from custody and 4.6% from the community were referred to the liaison and diversion team; 2.1% (1.1–4.0) of defendants were estimated to be unfit to plead, with a further 3.2% (1.9–5.3) deemed ‘borderline unfit’.

Conclusions

The prevalence of mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders in defendants is high. Many are at risk of being unfit to plead and require additional support at court, yet are not identified by existing services. Our evidence challenges policy makers and healthcare providers to ensure that vulnerable defendants are adequately supported at court.

Information

Type
Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Figure 0

Fig. 1 Study flowchart. ASRS, Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale; FTP-screen, screener for unfitness to plead, derived from the Fitness-to-Plead Assessment; LDSQ, Learning Disability Screening Questionniare; PriSnQuest, Prison Screening Questionnaire.

Figure 1

Table 1 Participant characteristics (n = 503)

Figure 2

Table 2 Screening test (stage 1) results by court location

Figure 3

Table 3 Weighted lifetime and current prevalence of mental disorders and fitness to plead in study population

Figure 4

Table 4 Frequency of psychiatric diagnoses per participant

Supplementary material: File

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